Planning board appoints Owen to capital outlay committee and raises staffing concerns

Jeff Silverstein, identified in the meeting as head of the finance committee and head of the capital outlay committee, described the capital outlay committee’s responsibilities and meeting cadence and said the committee is trying to update the town's capital plan after a period of neglect.

"We do have a bunch of pretty important items by charter, responsible for both developing and continuously updating the capital plan for the town…and it has been neglected in the past," Silverstein said, explaining the committee schedules meetings as needed and more frequently during the budget cycle.

Board members discussed participation and schedules. Several members agreed to nominate Owen to the capital outlay committee; the board moved, seconded and approved the nomination and the clerk was asked to record the appointments. The chair said he would have the clerk (Britney) write up the forms and provide them to the town clerk for the official record.

Separately, the chair raised ongoing concerns that the planning board has lacked a recording secretary and a part‑time planner for an extended period; he said he would contact the town administrator about the unfilled positions. Speaker 5 (Mike) said the land‑use department has delegated too many tasks to a single person and "is failing," calling for reorganization.

Next steps: the board will record the capital outlay appointments with the town clerk and the chair will contact the town administrator about filling the planning coordinator and part‑time planner positions.